Federal Branch Review Board

December 3rd, 2010, 03:47 PM

I was meeting with my OSM today who is bringing me in from the Navy IRR to the PA Guard as a 21A and was told that once my packet is completed and sent down to the NG HQ in Virginia that it is in the hands of the branch accessors to give me a go/no-go. The issue is that he told me that this could take up to 3 addtional months for this process to occur. I still have the state board to go through after that. Does anyone have any light to shed on this? Is this lengthy time frame realistic or might something happen sooner. I have been in the process to get into the guard since May of this year.

The Fed Rec board is suppose to be conducted by a board of officer prior to applicants being accepted into the OCS program. The purpose is to determine the suitability of prospective candidates for OCS. The Fed Rec board for active duty is conducted as a competitive board where applicants must have the approval of 2 or the 3 officers on the board to be recommended for OCS. For the National Guard the Fed Rec board is traditionally conducted after the applicant has signed the OCS enlistment option contract and has returned from basic training. Because typically the applicant has already signed a contract for OCS the board is not considered a competitive board. The Fed Rec board is conducted before attending OCS. You then receive a temporary Fed Rec. Once you have passed OCS and supply the Fed Rec board with a copy of certificate showing completion of OCS and Oath of Office along with the other required documentation the applicant then receives Federal Recognition and thus become an officer. This information can be found at NGR (AR) 600-100 Chapters 2 and 3.

Most states would handle this individually, and it would be very quick for an applicant commissioning since they would use that individual's original enlistment document for this purpose. While individuals going up for a review to gain higher ranks may take longer. In some cases 4-6 months. Please search the NGR (AR) 600-100 Chapters 2 and 3 for further clarification. This Regulation can be searched for using a number of browsers.

Are you already an officer in the Navy? If so, then the branch proponent for your career field must review your background, and decide (1) whether or not to let you into that Army career field, and (2) what, if any, additional requirements you must complete as a condition of your acceptance into the career field. Most likely you'll get accepted, and need to take the Reserve Component Captain's Career Course for Engineers.

If you have an engineering background in the military or civilian worlds, then don't worry. If you lack that background, then you may wish to ask your OSM to hedge your bets by submitting a packet to the Chemical branch, which traditionally cooperates well with inter-service transfers.